OH NO! IT’S COME TO PASS!

Brian P. Tierney and the Toll Brothers own the Philadelphia newspapers. In one way, the fuckers deserve it! All that hideous pandering by the Inquirer to court Pulitzers. Although, it’s true, the Daily News really doesn’t deserve Tierney/Toll. The Daily News did not lift its skirts for the GOP the way the Inquirer did. But now, they’re all done for. Fuhgeddaoutdit! Watch for the Brian P. Tierney viewpoint to slither through the editorial offices that he’s sworn to leave be. Writers who favor the GOP view and the Pope will get preferential treatment. Wait for it! By the November elections, the Philadelphia Newspapers will be house organs for the Bush administration. Else…why would a Republican flack like Tierney and a big-business poster boy like Toll Brothers buy a fleet of newspapers in the first place?

Hillary Clinton

Fine by me if Hillary wants to throw her hat in the ring as a 2008 presidential contender. But I don’t think she can win against John McCain, so I don’t want her to be the Democrat candidate. The only thing that’s relevant in the 2008 election is electability. Can Hillary Clinton win? No. A woman cannot win in 2008. There’s too much testosterone in the air what with the military wanting to run the government, the neocons determined to start more wars and John McCain determined to keep us in Iraq for the next 30 years. Does Hillary have the stuff to make a good president? Yes. But that doesn’t matter. Hillary Clinton cannot win against the formidable gang warfare the GOP will mount to protect its kingdom. However, Russ Feingold is wonderfully electable. Russ Feingold is Jewish, his sister is a rabbi and he’s a twice-divorced single man. In the election of 2008, these qualifications are pure gold in addition to the fact that Feingold is a true-blue, intelligent, ethical, attractive Democrat. Along with the “Had enough?” slogan, a sub-text can be added: Had enough of the traditional married-with-children-Christian-horseshit? Indeed, where has the married-with-children-Christian-president ethos gotten us? Look at the mess we’re in by listening to strategists who have pandered to the 23% of voters who are Christian religious fanatic bigots and warmongers. Feingold has the ca-jones, wit and class to handle mean-spirited GOP detractors who sling mud, tell lies and run campaigns like gangsters in the ‘hood. Would Hillary consider being Feingold’s running mate? Now THAT’S a ticket!

Condi Suggests the Best Recourse for America

“Sometimes you have to get rid of really, really bad regimes,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday at a news conference. Rice was defending the Bush administration’s war in Iraq. She also defended her speaking engagement at Boston College’s commencement today. Rice has many critics at the Catholic/Jesuit school who objected to her presence at its commencement exercises. However, her remark is the best advice anyone in the Bush cabinet has ever given to voters in the United States. And Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales’s remarks on the This Week program yesterday morning made it clear the Bush administration is a really REALLY bad regime. Gonzales said the government has the legal authority to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information. Which is not true. Whatever "legal authority" the Attorney General thinks he can use would be far-fetched and would violate the First Amendment in any case. However, Gonzales went on to say, "We have an obligation to enforce the law and to prosecute those who engage in criminal activity." And that is true. If Gonzales means what he says, the entire White House is in peril. As a really REALLY bad regime, they have all engaged in criminal activity, including the Attorney General. A bit of local news is standing Philadelphia on its ear. Knight Ridder sold the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News to the McClatchy Co., which immediately announced it was looking for a buyer. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning the frontrunner in the auction to buy the Philadelphia newspapers is a group of investors headed by Brian P. Tierney and the Toll Brothers. Yikes! Brian P. Tierney is a so-called marketing entrepreneur (Tierney Communications) in Philadelphia who loudly echoes the GOP party line every chance he gets. Plus he is a staunch defender of every bit of far-right nonsense the Roman Catholic Church and/or the Pope claims God has ordained. The Toll Brothers bills itself as “the nation's leading builder of new luxury homes, new home construction, golf communities, retirement communities, and resort homes”. Tierney says he will keep his GOP/RCC mitts off the newspapers should his group be successful in its bid. Boloney! Like the Bush administration, big business and the RCC have kept their paws off the MSM. It won’t happen. If the Tierney/Toll group buys the Philadelphia newspapers they will become little more than PR rags for the White House, huge corporations, the Vatican and Brian P. Tierney. Really REALLY bad regimes shouldn’t be allowed to get a toehold in the first place.

Illusionist/Comedian Penn Jillette Says:

“You can’t know anything about truth until you know all about deception.” Jillette is an interesting guy who says and does interesting things. And his comment about truth and deception is interesting. It would seem to follow that the Bush administration knows a lot about truth since it knows everything about deception. I don’t know why I even bother to philosophize about the Bush administration and its relationship with truth and deception. Except that it’s so easy to say that politicians don’t know what truth is. But politicians do know what truth is. And the ones who lie and deceive make a conscious choice to lie and deceive. Politicians who are troubled with their mendacity tell themselves they lie for the best possible reasons: To keep America safe; to protect the weak; to safeguard our secrets from spies. And all those rationales for lying are bullshit. Liars tell lies to make themselves look better than they are. Liars tell lies to get something they couldn’t get by telling the truth. Liars tell lies when the truth is unpleasant. And liars tell lies because it’s fun. Don’t get me wrong. I do not think the truth must be told all the time about everything. I don’t think it would benefit the world for the truth to be told about Moses, Muhammad, Jesus Christ, the Christian religion or the Roman Catholic Church. We need our religions. Religions are based on myth. Religion and total truth cannot co-exist. Most marriages could not survive the practice of telling the truth under all circumstances. And governments would collapse under the weight of the whole truth and nothing but the truth twenty-four-seven. But why has the Bush administration chosen to lie and deceive all the time about everything, when reasonable men and women and most governments and religions lie and deceive only part of the time? Penn Jillette may have answered that question in an interview he did a few years ago on AskMen.com. “Well of course, the fact is,” Jillette said, “if we (Penn and Teller) really did have magical powers, what we would do is get world peace and cure AIDS, we would not make birds appear out of our ass.” The Bush administration doesn’t believe it can do anything good and decent in the world and it has opted for illusions. But what real illusionists know is that people realize their act is fake. The White House has come to believe its illusions. And worst of all, it believes we believe its illusions.

GOP Strategy For Staying in Control

1. Lie 2. Ratchet up our fear of THEM Lying is so ingrained in the Bush administration that people in the White House always lie. It’s their nature. Even when there’s no reason to lie, they lie. But every day the White House adds to the list of people and countries that we are to despise and fear in order to call ourselves Americans. And why not? If it was good enough for Senator Joseph McCarthy during the old Communist witch-hunt days, it certainly should work for the present fascist White House. Following is a partial list of GOP Despise and Fear rules: Despise and fear anyone from the Middle East unless and until anyone from the Middle East puts money directly in your pocket. Despise and fear anyone from the Middle East unless and until the US invades that person’s country. At that point, love and pity persons from US-attacked Middle East countries, unless and until those persons do not literally and passionately kiss your ass, then return forthwith to despise and fear mode. Despise and fear all lesbian and gay persons unless and until a gay/lesbian person runs your election campaign, runs the national committee of your party, is a hooker who makes house calls, is part of your cabinet, is part of your immediate family, and/or is you. Despise and fear all immigrants because they want to take over the United States. If possible, enact laws that will make immigrants look stupid, greedy and craven. Make Americans despise and fear immigrants. Make immigrants believe they can become citizens ONLY IF they love and fear the GOP. Never allow guest-worker slaves to become citizens. If immigrants show signs of not loving and fearing the GOP, kill, jail and humiliate them. Despise and fear all non-Christians. Non-Christians want to take over the United States. If this policy was good enough for Hitler, it’s good enough for the GOP unless and until a non-Christian is your lawyer, doctor, dentist, psychiatrist, wife, husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, or close-associate Episcopalian, then put up with that heathen until he/she can be converted. Despise and fear all women who believe their wombs and vaginas are not government property. These unholy, treasonous and foul women want to take over the world. Despise and fear all people who want the war in Iraq to end immediately. Despise and fear all people who want the government to stop its Despise and Fear campaign. Despise and fear all people who believe the government should not rule by secret fiat, illegal surveillance and martial law. Since people like those in the Despise and Fear coalition comprise only 25% of the citizens of the United States, despise and fear 75% of the people who live and vote in the United States.

Are We There Yet?

And when we get there, will we know we are there? “There” being the tipping point. It’s been six years since Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” was published in 2000. And now, each of us either hears or says “the tipping point” at least once every day. Gladwell’s book was about the concept that small changes do not affect any system until critical mass is reached. At the moment of critical mass—the boiling point--one small change tips the entire system and a big effect takes place. Already, there have been more than a half-dozen horrendous events during the Bush reign that have been called the tipping point: that moment when one more lie or distortion caused the president’s approval rating to plummet. Mission Accomplished Colin Powell/George W. Bush UN lies revealed Valerie Plame outed to avenge UN lies being revealed Schaivo disaster showing JebBush/GeorgeBush/BillFrist to be total idiots Social Security plan defeat Katrina debacle with Bush on vacation and Condi Rice buying shoes President defends illegal wiretapping Each one of these events caused an uproar and erosion of faith in the GOP. But what exactly will happen when all the small tipping points become part of a HUGE TIPPING POINT when critical mass is achieved and everyone in the United States and everyone in the world wants to be rid of the entire Bush administration without waiting for the democratic process to vote them out? That is the question that is scaring the pants off not only the GOP but the Dems as well. The dire prospect of rioting in the streets and anarchy is what makes our legislators defend the indefensible and prate about respecting the office of the president even if we don’t respect the president. Fear of the consequences of reaching the ultimate tipping point makes pundits and congressmen defend an unwinnable and unnecessary war. What is going to happen, they whisper in corridors, if the people rise up in protest? It certainly is a very good question. And the determination not to find out is what is driving every initiative being put forward by either party today. Governing and leadership is not happening in Washington and has not been happening since we were lied into the war in Iraq. Avoiding open rebellion is what is happening in Washington. But can the tipping point brought on by achieving critical mass be avoided? .

Tony Snow

Tony Snow’s first formal press briefing as White House press secretary on Tuesday brought to mind an Oscar Wilde quip. Snow misquoted poll results, misquoted President Bush, made conflicting statements about whether the NSA is invading the privacy of Americans or not and used a phrase that has been deemed politically incorrect for the last seven years. He said he didn’t want to “hug the tar baby” of the surveillance program. To top off his sloppy and ill-prepared first official day on the job, he had a tearful private moment with long seconds of dead air during which he struggled to get his emotions under control in order to speak of his colon cancer surgery. It was then that Oscar Wilde came to my mind: “One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.” How long Tony Snow is going to blame his gaffes on the fact that he’s not yet up-to-speed on White House info is anyone’s guess. But a press secretary gets only one free pass to cry about his near-death cancer surgery. Tony Snow used that pass Tuesday. But Snow has managed to do one thing since his switch from the Fox News Follies to the White House Shuffle. He has made former press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan look terrific.

Border Guvs Ask: How Will it Work?

According to the New York Times this morning, the Governors of border states have some questions about how the Bush administration’s amnesty plan and deployment of troops to secure the border will actually play out. That is, the guvs of California, Arizona and New Mexico have questions. Governor Rick Perry of Texas thinks everything the prez said or didn’t say this past Monday regarding immigration was wonderful. But governors Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California would like to have a little basic information. They said the president made his announcement without consulting the governors from the Border States that will be most impacted by the plan or lack of a plan. The main concerns of the Border States guvs are: 1. The National Guard is already exhausted by deployments to Iraq. If 6,000 are sent to the border, who will deal with forest fires and other natural disasters? 2. What will be the duties of the National Guard? 3. How are the states going to pay for the billions of dollars needed to provide education, medical care and public services to the illegals already living in the US? Homeland Security head doofus Michael Chertoff and White House head crook-and-liar Karl Rove said the troops will come from the states around the country but didn’t give details. Governor Richardson asked, "What exactly are they going to do? What are their rules of engagement? Those questions have not been answered. My National Guard commander says we can probably spare 100 guardsmen without being threatened in our response to forest fires and other civil emergencies.” Governor Schwarzenegger wondered if 6,000 troops would be enough and if it isn’t, would the president do “whatever it takes”? “That’s what I want to hear,” Schwarzenegger said. "So what if they have 6,000 National Guards at the borders and we find out that the same amount of people are coming across? Does it mean he will increase it to 12,000, to 15,000, to 50,000? We don't know. I have no idea. And so we were not consulted on that, and we have not really been included in the decision making process, so I cannot tell you." Gov. Janet Napolitano says she’s been asking the White House and the Pentagon since December to pay for additional National Guard troops to secure the Arizona border. About half of the illegals enter the US at Arizona’s border. "They allowed this problem to festeer for far too long. This should have been dealt with years ago," she said. Never mind. The governor of Texas has complete faith in the president from Texas. "It’s good that the federal government is starting to respond to our needs,” Governor Perry said. Yes, Mr. Perry. And since the pile of horseshit at the White House has become so huge, a pony for the governor of Texas must be there someplace.

CNN Calls Prez Speech “Impassioned Appeal”

George W. Bush’s 17-minute speech last night about immigration might have been impassioned if it had been delivered by anyone other than George W. Bush who looked embalmed. The speech was a good piece of writing. This morning the LA Times said “Bush made a passionate plea”. But it was the speechwriter who made a passionate plea. The president made robotic movements with his hands while mechanically reading from the teleprompter. Isn’t anyone going to talk about the president’s mental and physical torpor? And what is it with a White House that wants to call out the troops to solve problems? And what troops, we might ask? If the Bush administration’s plan for border security is put into effect, the National Guard will have to send its newest enlistees to the border for a short time. When that deployment of green, minimally trained youngsters is rotated out, a new batch of rookies will be sent to the border. And they will be expected to do what? Chase down illegals? Shoot to kill? Build a wall? Check for green cards? What? The Bush administration had no clear plan for executing a war in Iraq or for ending the war in Iraq. And now it has no clear plan for using the National Guard to secure our borders. The Bush administration only has a plan to make it seem as though they have a plan. And that, the White House reasons, will score necessary votes from Hispanics and appease the Republican base, which is in revolt. However, one must give credit where credit is due. The president’s speechwriter has unerringly tapped into the Texas gestalt of the Bush administration. And that is: Forever enable a group of second-class citizens (guest workers) who will NEVER become American citizens so that they can be used as slaves; and keep a bunch of gun-toting vigilantes at hand to enforce order among the slaves. How this is going to appeal to Hispanics I have no idea. But I am sure it sounds reasonable and attractive to Republican neocons and far-right religious fanatics.

Dear David Brooks:

You are an idiot. Yesterday, on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday morning show, the topic came around to the NSA and its wiretapping. Specifically, the issue was that the NSA had gotten Verizon, AT&T and Bell South to compile and analyze the phone records of millions of Americans. The roundtable consisted of you who write op/eds for the New York Times, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and ABC’s George Will. It was predictable that you and George Will would see nothing wrong with the wiretaps. It was predictable that you and George Will would say no one had been harmed and no one had actually been eavesdropped on. It was predictable that you and George Will would say the NSA would use the information it received to make Americans more secure by only investigating people who were involved in wicked skullduggery. But you, because you are an idiot, said Americans could fundamentally trust the NSA. Why in the name of anything holy would Americans feel we could fundamentally trust the FBI, the CIA or the NSA? The FBI in the past has been used to get information on Americans that the White House wanted to discredit. Saddam Hussein and Panama’s drug lord Manuel Noriega both worked for the CIA. For me, that does not inspire trust. The NSA has been so clandestine, secret and covert that wags said NSA stood for No Such Agency. Why would we trust any of these people? I surely don’t trust them. These agencies are staffed by and run by people who will do anything they are told to do by anyone perceived to be a superior. A spy is not trustworthy. A spy is a fucking SPY. Spies spy. I have known two low-level people in the CIA. I wouldn’t have slept in the same room with either one…not without one eye open. I don’t trust that information gleaned about me would not be used at some time in the future to my detriment if it suited the aims of some president. The current president lies every time he opens his mouth. Why would I trust him when he says the NSA won’t use my info against me? I don’t trust the NSA and I don’t trust you, David Brooks.

Echelon Has Been in Existence Since 1948

Echelon is a global spying network. In 1999 the New York Times wrote, “A leading privacy advocacy group on Friday filed a lawsuit that seeks to force the National Security Agency to release its records on potential government surveillance of the Internet communications of American citizens. “The lawsuit, filed in federal district court here by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, seeks the public disclosure of internal NSA documents discussing the legality of the agency's intelligence activities. “The filing was prompted by various news reports in the past year that indicate the NSA is coordinating a global surveillance system known as Echelon.” Echelon eavesdrops on all phone calls and all e-mails all the time. It is, of course, electronic surveillance. A human being does not listen to most of the messages. But certain words or phrases trigger closer surveillance. EVERY phone call and e-mail of EVERY person in the United States is monitored by Echelon. In 1983 journalist James Bamford wrote about the surveillance system that came to be known as Echelon. In his book, “The Puzzle Palace: A Report on America's Most Secret Agency”, Bamford said, “The ‘link-up’ that veteran British journalist Chapman Pincher referred to is quite likely the most secret agreement ever entered into by the English-speaking world. Signed in 1947 and known as the UKUSA Agreement, it brought together under a single umbrella the SIGINT organizations of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Under the pact, the five nations carved up the earth into spheres of cryptologic influence, each country assigned specific targets according to its potential for maximum intercept coverage. Britain, for example, was assigned various Chinese frequencies to cover from its Little Sai Wan station in Hong Kong, and the United States was responsible for other frequencies from its listening posts in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. “The UKUSA nations also agreed to standardize their terminology, code words, intercept-handling procedures, and indoctrination oaths, for efficiency as well as security. Vipar, Trine, and Umbra, therefore, would appear on the TOP (or MOST) SECRET documents and intercepts, regardless of which member originated them. The voluminous looseleaf binder that contains these rules and procedures is known as the IRSIG--for International Regulations on SIGINT.” It’s been no secret that the NSA uses Echelon’s technology and capabilities. So why is the Bush administration denying the fact that all Americans are under surveillance and have been since 1948? The Prez said, “We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans.” Stupid lie. The NSA absolutely is mining and trolling through our personal lives and has been doing so since its inception in 1952. "Everything that N.S.A. does is lawful and very carefully done," General Hayden said, adding, “The NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law." It is certainly true that everything the NSA does is done carefully. But it’s another stupid lie that the NSA operates within the law. Secret surveillance of the phone calls of American citizens is not lawful and never has been. The ridiculous part of the Bush/NSA position is that they are denying something that has been publicly written about and has been known to be a fact for nearly 60 years. The NSA was sued in 1999 for doing exactly what it’s denying it is doing in 2006. It’s not about catching terrorists. It’s about the GOP wanting to control all aspects of all Americans' lives all the time. It’s about the White House being fascists. It’s about the Bush administration being a dictatorship. It’s about the military wanting to run our government. It’s about the neocons wanting to rule the world. And it’s about a bunch of silly little men playing cloak-and-dagger games and whispering secrets to each other that the whole world already knows. How idiotic is that!

The Real Reason Bush & Co. Picked Hayden

The White House got itself a hitman. The war in Iraq has been the biggest mistake the Bush administration has made in five-and-a-half years of making horrendous mistakes. The White House thinks only in terms of power and votes. The Iraq war was never about ridding the world of a dictator or bringing freedom to an oppressed country. The war was about gaining power. The White House knew it had made a mistake shortly after the war started. And the reason the WH knows the war in Iraq was a mistake is that it has not resulted in power or votes. The cost to the nation, the world and loss of lives have never been important issues to the GOP. Power and votes, that's it. About the same time the war turned into an albatross around the necks of the neocons, the GOP realized it had made a terrible mistake in making George W. Bush president. But this administration makes no mistakes. It had to continue the fiction that George Bush was president. The third major mistake Dick Cheney and his neocon cronies made was to let Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld run the war in Iraq. Not only has Rumsfeld been the worst war strategist since Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense during the war in Vietnam, but he has been increasing his power base in the Pentagon. He’s like a male cat marking out his territory. He’s pissing on everything while giving himself greater authority over more departments. The Bush administration can’t admit it’s been wrong about Rumsfeld but it can buy a guy who will neutralize him. That guy is General Michael V. Hayden. The White House has decided to castrate Rumsfeld and it has picked Michael V. Hayden to do the job, with the help of National Intelligence agency head John Negroponte. It’s not a bad plan, as Machiavellian plans go. It’s just that giving the CIA and the National Intelligence agency more power in order to rid the Pentagon of Rumsfeld and his fiefdom may be a cure that’s worse than the disease. And the Prez better check his own equipment if Hayden ever says, "You're doing a heckuva job, Georgie."

Top 10 Reasons Against Hayden for CIA Head

10. He’s a military man 9. Even if he resigns his commission, he’s a military man 8. He’s a Cheney crony 7. John McCain likes him 6. National Intelligence director Negroponte likes him 5. He is National Intelligence Negroponte’s chief deputy 4. He didn’t prevent 9/11 3. He misjudged Iraq’s WMD’s 2. As director of NSA he illegally wiretapped for Bush And the Number One reason General Michael V. Hayden is the worst choice for Head Spook: 1. The White House picked him.

Looking Back at John McCain

In 1999 in the run-up to George W. Bush being elected president by the Florida Supreme Court and by Florida voter-fraud, Bush lost the New Hampshire primary to Arizona Senator John McCain. However Bush got 9 of the 13 “Super Tuesday” states and wrapped up the nomination. Plus, his handlers saw to it that lies were circulated in the press about McCain. After the New Hampshire primary, the Bush strategists (that is, Karl Rove) realized their candidate just might lose in the general election. And the famous McCain Smear was put into action. Nothing was too fanciful. McCain was accused of fathering a black child, he was called “the fag candidate”, his wife was accused of being a druggie, and he was called a Vietnam War nutcase. Since he had been a “Hanoi Hilton” Prisoner of War for five-and-a-half years, the GOP labeled him “mentally unstable”. The truth was that McCain and his wife had adopted a baby in Bangladesh. He had met with a group of gay Republicans. And although his wife at one time was addicted to prescription drugs, she had outed herself publicly on that score. My problem with McCain is that I believe he wants to keep the United States in war mode. And in that obsession I do believe he is unstable. I believe the mild-mannered, quick to make a joke John McCain turns into a warmongering fanatic when the issue is war. He demurs when accused of being a hero. He says that he was “too incompetent” to keep from being shot down and being captured and he should not be called a war hero. And he probably doesn’t think of himself as a hero. But he was a casualty twice before being shot down in Vietnam and he kept going back into active duty. He reminds me of Audie Murphy in WWII. When the truth became known about Murphy’s war heroics, it was found that his exploits put his fellow soldiers at risk. John McCain wants us to stay in Iraq and finish the job. He believes that winning is worth however many American soldiers are killed. He has said, “There is no substitute for victory”. John McCain is in favor of General Michael Hayden being the next CIA Director. It was when Hayden was National Security Agency director in 2001 that George W. Bush authorized warrantless wiretaps. McCain has never come out and said warrantless wiretaps are illegal. He sits on the fence and says, “Let’s find out if they are illegal.” As a matter of fact, McCain straddles every issue except war. John McCain will be 72 in 2008 and there is nothing he would like better than to be a war president. Negroponte and Hayden will help McCain oust Rumsfeld (which surely can only be a plus), but that will leave the field wide open for John McCain, as president, to finally conduct as many wars as he likes. And he really really likes war. John McCain, like the present powers in the Republican Party, will say and do whatever he has to say and do to become president. And then he’ll show President Lyndon Johnson and all the incompetent generals and his capturers in Vietnam and the whole world just how war should be fought and WON!! From John McCain may the Good Lord deliver us.

Just Who Appointed Goss in the First Place?

The New York Times has adopted the Bush administration position that the Porter Goss/John Negroponte enmity is what did Goss in. And National Intelligence Director Negroponte has never made a secret of the fact that he didn’t like Goss’s appointment as CIA head. But has everyone forgotten who anointed Goss as a favorite son and made him head of the CIA? On the day he appointed Goss, President Bush said, “He knows the CIA inside and out…he is the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation’s history.” And VP Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert were so hot for Goss that when Goss planned to retire from his term as Florida’s Republican congressman in late 2004 they talked him into staying. Goss had been chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence since 1997. Cheney and Hastert thought he was so wonderful that they arranged for a change in House rules which limited committee service so that Goss could stay on the committee and chair it. Well, stuff happens and things change. And the stuff happening and things that are changing right now is that Goss’s replacement, General Michael Hayden, is no fan of Donald Rumsfeld’s. So, yeah…Negroponte gets to flex his kick-ass muscles and show that the National Intelligence agency trumps the CIA, but that’s hardly the whole story. Goss had brought into the CIA a bunch of cronies who have become pimp-meisters and kings of corruption, which is something of an embarrassment to the GOP. During Goss’ s 18 months as CIA head, a dozen CIA officials resigned, took early retirement or otherwise got the hell out. And even though the idea of a National Intelligence agency which would oversee 15 separate intelligence agencies, was a piss-poor idea from the get-go, still, it is a way to correct a few of the Bush/Cheney/Hastert mistakes. Speaking of which, the Goss flap has engendered a way to get rid of Rumsfeld. And you better believe the White House is going to take advantage of the opportunity forthwith and soonest. But one big question keeps buzzing around my head. If an Operation Clean House is being put in effect, who is behind it? It’s not George W. Bush. He thinks Foggo is one of his happy pills. It’s not Karl Rove because he’s on the Problem Neutralized list. It’s not Cheney, Hastert or Frist because they like a dirty White House. Apparently, the Republicans have decided John McCain will fill out the remainder of George Bush’s term and then become prez-for-real in 2008. Because McCain surely seems to be calling the shots right now.

What Hath Goss Wrought?!

It’s true that Porter J. Goss who became director of the CIA in September 2004 never got along with John Negroponte who was made Director of National Intelligence in February 2005. And when the MSM says Negroponte had become “disenchanted” with Goss, it’s the understatement of the year. But it’s ridiculous to suggest that Goss resigned solely because of hostility between him and Negroponte. More likely, Negroponte, along with the entire Bush cabinet and cadre of Bush advisors saw that Goss’s behavior and associations with people involved in huge scandals (like Randall “Duke” Cunningham and Brent Wilkes) was going to poison the well and Goss was told to resign or else. Already the Internet is rife with stories about Goss attending Wilkes’s poker-and-hooker parties and that those parties were under FBI surveillance. Not to mention Goss ‘s strange loyalty to Kyle “Dusty” Foggo. Goss made Foggo the third-ranking official of the CIA even though Foggo had no discernible credentials for the position. And now Foggo is being investigated for CIA contract irregularities. And we can’t forget Foggo’s little poker-and-hooker parties attended by Porter J. Goss. The movers and shakers in Washington DC are not going to get into tar-and-feather mode over a few parties with hookers. But the latest allegation is that Goss is up to his neck in the Gannon scandal that provided guys to the guys. And that kind of fucking around is a little too fancy even on Capitol Hill. Of course the resignation of Porter J. Goss was announced on Friday. The White House assumes the stories of their dishonor and humiliation won’t get maximum coverage if it’s divulged on a Friday. They’ve got to be kidding! The Sunday morning talking heads think they’ve died and gone to heaven with a story like Goss’s resignation. Who would have thought on that sad morning of November 3, 2004 when George W. Bush crowed about his re-election, that the White House would be in such chaos and dishonor a year-and-a-half later? Or, a better question is: Who would have thought that all the corruption and malfeasance that we knew was going on in the Bush administration would actually be made public?

Mexico’s Prez is Taking Lessons From Bush

President Vincente Fox is using the Bush administration tactic of saying one thing while his actions prove the opposite. Fox has decided not to sign a bill that would have effectively legalized drugs in Mexico. Now he says the law should be changed "to make it absolutely clear that in our country the possession of drugs and their consumption are and continue to be crimes." Not really. The current law has a provision that grants judges the power to allow people arrested for possession of drugs to argue they are addicts and that the drugs were for personal use. The new law would have amended the legal loophole for addicts to include all adults. It would have made it legal for any adult over 18 to possess and use a specified amount of opiates, marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy and the hallucinogenic cactus peyote. And yes, state officials could have made drug arrests, which now is only the province of the federales. But it’s hard to see how allowing drug addicts and anyone over 18 to possess drugs legally is taking a hard line on drugs. The Fox justification for the bill he nearly signed is that it would have closed the loophole judges were using that permitted traffickers in large amounts of drugs to get away with the crime. It will be interesting to see what “corrections” will be made in the bill that will make it look as though it’s tough on drug lords. Because it’s as imperative for Mexico to keep its drug traffic healthy as it is for Afghanistan to continue growing poppies. Any rhetoric to the contrary is nonsense.

They’re At It Again

The news is all bad for the Bush administration. So what are the White House plans for counteracting the fact that the Republicans have done nothing right in the last five years and are bringing the US to ruin? The White House is releasing another scare alert and hoping and praying that citizens will be so freaked we won’t notice no one is running the country. Today the White House is making public a 17-page draft summary of the government’s 228-page report of steps federal officials will take to combat a pandemic birdflu outbreak. But in a nutshell, the federal government says in the report not to count on the federal government for help. Second, the fed says we should look to state and local governments to handle a serious outbreak. But state and local governments say they have no money or resources to handle a pandemic outbreak. And the government says two million people could die in the US of birdflu. The bottom line is, we are told to stay home, wear surgical masks and lay low when the birdflu hits. If there are any National Guard units not in Iraq or US army units not in Iraq, they will attempt to keep order. But since mostly poultry workers will get the available vaccines, people may riot and storm hospitals and drug stores and the few military people may not be able to quell the unrest. The government has not said how many of the 2 mil dead people will die because they’ve been shot to death in riots over vaccines. So now that we’re scared shitless and we’ve forgotten about the war in Iraq, the upcoming nuclear war with Iran, the fact that the unnecessary war has bankrupted the US, the fact that many of our elected officials are going to jail, the fact that George W. Bush is in cahoots with the people who attacked the World Trade Center, and the fact that our so-called leaders are corrupt megalomaniacal fascists only interested in feathering their nests and the nests of their cronies, we are supposed to calmly think about the Doomsday options available to us when the birdflu hits. And I’m thinking Mexico has already found the answer. Mexican President Vicente Fox is going to sign a bill that will legalize the use of every drug and narcotic sold in Mexico. Good plan. Since our federal government is not going to help us in an epidemic, state and local governments can’t help us, two million people will probably die, gunhappy militias will try to keep order, all businesses will be disrupted and will likely fail and chaos will reign supreme, we may as well go out happy and flying high.

Compassion in the Roman Catholic Church

The Pope is looking into whether it might be acceptable for Catholics to use condoms in a specific and restricted situation: “to protect life inside a marriage when one partner is infected with H.I.V. or is sick with AIDS." Which idea, of course, is world shaking. At least it’s shaking up the little Roman Catholic world in the Vatican. The RCC teaching is that “every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil.” Which means that when a woman’s doctor has told her that getting pregnant will kill her, her only recourse is abstinence. That’s the RCC’s teaching. Although if the woman goes to her priest for a consultation over the problem, most priests would say that the use of birth control or other methods of sexual gratification are “a lesser evil”, albeit still evil. Nevertheless, the RCC’s official position is that the woman must refrain from sexual relations or get pregnant and die. But now, the canon lawyers in the RCC are trying to find a way to opine that it’s okay to use a condom if one partner has HIV or AIDS. And if they do an end run around the birth control dogma where AIDS is concerned, the RCC will still maintain that the use of a condom in all other circumstances is evil. The people researching this issue are going so far as to say perhaps one partner could claim “self-defense”. And also at issue is whether the married couple could claim that they weren’t using the condom for contraception, but rather for medical intervention. This is important, you see. Because at the moment the condom is slipped on the member of the hubby, both partners have to mentally vow that they really do want to get pregnant, it’s just that this condom thingy is medically necessary. And even if the Pope decides that the use of a condom in this instance is okay, the change in teaching is only for married folks. People with HIV and AIDS who aren’t married and have sex are doomed to eternal damnation anyway unless they confess their sin every time they do it and promise not to do it anymore, which isn’t likely, so why consider them? The NYT reported this morning that a researcher on AIDS for Human Rights Watch, Rebecca Schleifer, said that if Pope Ratz makes this change, “It will have a huge influence”, but in a way the Vatican may not like. Schleifer said it might break down resistance to condom use in places like the Philippines or parts of Africa. And the use of condoms by unmarrieds is not what the Vatican has in mind. It will be difficult for the RCC to hand out condoms in Africa with the proviso that they be used only by married folks who promise to mentally vow to God every time they have sex that they actually want to get pregnant but the condom is just for self-defense and a medical intervention. But that’s okay. Pope Ratz doesn’t actually care about real compassion. And he doesn’t care if the RCC’s manmade rules are ungodly. It’s acting benevolent while watching his subjects break under the yoke of the Church that’s so much fun.

OK, I’ve Already Had My 5:00 PM Martini

And it’s only 4:00 pee-em. But tell me that God himself would not be amazed that his creation has come up with THE TOILET WAND as a promotion ad. Toilet Wand! Oh fuck me!

Well That Takes Balls!

But whoever said Colin Powell doesn’t have a set of brass ones? Secretary of State “No-Doubt-In-My-Mind-Saddam-has-WMD’s” Powell who knowingly lied at the UN in order to get support for the war in Iraq is now criticizing the Bush administration for not following his advice about the number of troops needed for the invasion. Powell said he advised Bush in March 2003 to send more troops to Iraq, but that his recommendation was not followed. In an interview on UK-ITV yesterday, Powell said, "The president's military advisers felt that the size of the force was adequate, they may still feel that years later. Some of us don't, I don't." I'm sure Powell’s successor Condoleezza Rice has never once told the truth during her long association with the Bush administration. However, I would love to think she broke her customary practice of lying when she said on CNN,”I don't remember specifically what Secretary Powell may be referring to.” I would love to think Powell never said anything about using more troops and that he is once again lying. That would give Powell's act a kind of symmetry. In any case, Colin Powell has no regrets whatsoever about lying to get us into the quagmire in Iraq and killing 2,400 US soldiers for no reason other than to fulfill the dreams of glory of a bunch of over-the-hill warmongers who wanted to play soldier. But he's mad as hell that after he lied for the Bush administration they didn’t follow his advice about sending more troops to get killed for no good reason. You would think Colin Powell would just slither off to corporate Republican land and become the CEO of an oil company, make lots (more) money and shut up about his disgusting and putrid involvement in the Iraq debacle. But no. He’s an ex-military man and he loves war. He’s no doubt angling for a position in John McCain’s cabinet as Secretary of Defense where he can micro-manage a nuclear war with Iran. Which, if it doesn’t happen on its own, he can tell the kind of lies that will get him into the action.

No Cause For Alarm

What would make the Generals and Army Corps of Engineers view the situation in Iraq as a cause for alarm? That phrase—no cause for alarm—may be the single most loaded and weasel-worded string of words put together by the US warmongers in Iraq. A headline in this morning’s NYT screams: “100,000 Families Are Fleeing Violence, Iraq Official Says”. But half-way down in the article General Rick Lynch says "Some of them truly are moving because they're concerned about their own personal security or their family's security, I'm sure of that…some of them are moving for economic reasons. Some of them are moving to be with their families. But we're not seeing internally displaced persons at the rate which causes us alarm." Now we finally know when the Pentagon and the Generals running the show in Iraq will recognize the mess they’ve made. It will be when they see the state of affairs as a cause for alarm. And that may be the day after Armageddon. Then again, probably not. The Army Corps of Engineers, which has blown every job it has ever had including “correcting” the Mississippi River in 1879, has blown it again in Iraq. But apparently the corps sees no cause for alarm. The NYT reported this morning: “A $243 million program led by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to build 150 health care clinics in Iraq has in some cases produced little more than empty shells of crumbling concrete and shattered bricks cemented together into uneven walls, two reports by a federal oversight office have found.” The NYT says that the reports released yesterday “detail a close inspection of five of the clinics in the northern city of Kirkuk as well as a sweeping audit of the entire program, which began in March 2004 as a heavily promoted effort to improve health care for ordinary Iraqis. The reports say that none of the five clinics in Kirkuk and only 20 of the original 150 across the country will be completed without new financing.” The NYT article goes on to say, “Lax oversight by the Army corps is responsible for the failure of the overall program. Cowed by security fears that the reports suggest may have been overblown, the corps sometimes inspected the work only through what it called "windshield surveys" — hasty drive-bys.” But what the hell, folks. Relax. Feel good about giving more money to the Army Corps of Engineers for them to misappropriate, mismanage and steal. Feel good about doddering Donald Rumsfeld killing more US soldiers in Iraq. Rest in the knowledge that everything is going well in Iraq because the President, the Generals, Halliburton, Cheney, The Army Corps of Engineers and the guys recruiting more naïve and ignorant soldiers for the US Army see no cause for alarm.

The White House and the Gas Crisis

At any point during the last six years, the Bush administration could have headed off the current gas crisis and it chose not to. Remember the Prince Bandar/George W. Bush handholding when Bandar said he would hold the oil price down to $40/barrel? That, of course, was grandstanding and political nonsense on both sides. Neither Bandar nor GWB had any desire to hold the price of oil down. It is currently hovering around $70-75/barrel. When the price of crude hits $75/barrel, the price at the gas station hits $2.90/gallon. And that makes oil producing countries happy, the oil industry happy, sellers of fuel to the military happy, the Bush administration happy and the Bush family happy. Lest we forget, the Saudis and the Bushes have been in the oil business since the Saudis and Bushes crawled out of their caves. Letting the oil industry make huge profits is in the Bush family’s best interest. And George W. Bush is not above screwing the entire world to put a dollar in his pocket, and incidentally proving to his family that he’s not the inept oilman they always thought he was. Being one-up on that score is very important to the Little Decider. But one sentence in the NYT’s gas crisis report this morning shows what has been equally important to the GOP: “The Republican proposal also called for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil production, a provision sure to draw opposition from many Democrats and even some Republicans.” It may be hard for us little folks to understand, but our government makes decisions based on granting personal gain to the men in power, and exacting revenge against the opposition that hasn’t gone along with enriching the men in power. Now you tell me, how is the Bush administration’s modus operandi regarding making rich Republicans richer any different from what dictators and kings do to put gold in their personal coffers? Our government doesn’t kill people to enrich the men in power, you say? Our government has killed 2,396 American soldiers in Iraq. Our government has maimed 17,469 American soldiers in Iraq. Our government has killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and maimed and tortured thousands more in Iraq. And that war is over oil.

The Army Says It Absolutely Needs Our Help

Army Writing Contest: "Countering Insurgency" Call for Papers Date: 2006-04-01 (Archive) Date Submitted: 2005-11-10 Announcement ID: 148567 The U.S. Army absolutely needs to understand more about counterinsurgency (COIN)—nothing less than the future of the civilized world may depend on it. If you have something to contribute, submit it to the Combined Arms Center Commanding General’s 2006 Special Topics Writing Competition: “Countering Insurgency.” Submissions should be 3,500 to 5,000 words long. First prize is $1,000, featured publication in the Combined Arms Center’s Military Review, and a certificate of recognition signed by the commanding general. Second prize is $500, publication, and a signed certificate. Third prize is $250, publication, and a certificate. Fourth prize is $250, special consideration for publication, and a certificate. Submit essays not later than 1 April 2006 to Military Review, ATTN: COIN, 294 Grant Avenue, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-1254, or via email to milrevweb@leavenworth.army.mil (Subject: COIN). For additional information, visit militaryreview.army.mil or call (913) 684-9330. I am so sorry I neglected to let you know about this contest to save the civilized world. And now the deadline has come and gone. Oh well…maybe the army will hold another contest to save the uncivilized world. God knows there are hundreds of topics the Army needs advice on: The Army Needs to Know How to Fight a War Without An Army The Army Needs to Know How to Fight a War Without Decent Equipment The Army Needs to Know How to Bamboozle Kids into Enlisting Why the Army is Run by Assholes in the Pentagon Why Generals Defend Assholes Like Donald Rumsfeld in the Pentagon And here’s the top topic the Army absolutely needs to understand and therefore should run a contest to find out: Why has the Defense Department paid Rendon Group $50-$100 million to sell the Iraq war to the public, but won’t spend the money to give our troops the equipment they need to fight the war? Please see “The Man Who Sold the War” by James Bamford in the December 1, 2005 issue of Rolling Stone. I have queried milrevweb to see if the April 1 deadline can be extended. There are millions of us who support our troops and stand ready to tell the Army everything it absolutely needs to know. We applaud the Army for seeking our advice.

Josh Bolton Picks Fox News Tony Snow

CNN reported last night that it’s all but a done deal for Fox News political analyst Tony Snow to become the next White House press secretary. Apparently Josh Bolton wants to sew up this appointment as quickly as he can. The official announcement may be made as early as today, CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux reported. Since Scott McClellan’s resignation as press secretary came about before the White House had nailed down a replacement, McClellan obviously quit and was not fired. The word is that Bolton talked to Snow about the press secretary job a few weeks ago. That would be about the time McClellan told the White House what it could do with its White House toady-and-asswipe position. The Tony Snow appointment surely is in keeping with George Bush’s penchant for being surrounded by his father’s cronies. Although Snow is only 51, he was a speechwriter for George Herbert Walker Bush in 1991. Snow has been an editorial page editor of The Washington Times and a columnist for USA Today. His doctor says his prognosis is good but his colon cancer certainly must be a huge negative despite all the positives that accrue from being an alumnus of Rupert Murdoch’s Little White House on TV. The other Snow still in the news is Treasury Secretary John Snow. The White House seems to be having a hell of a time finding his replacement so that they can boot him out. CNN reported that US ambassador to India David Mulford is the latest candidate to be offered the job. Maybe the White House headhunters should go back to Fox News to find a Treasury Secretary. Fox News already has the Bush administration lie and deceive style down pat.

NYT Gives Rick Santorum Another Free Pass

Robin Toner’s New York Times article this morning, “Pennsylvania Senate Campaign Tests Democrats' Abortion Tack”, sounds as though she believes Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is a rational sane person. And he is not. Rick Santorum is a screaming Jesus freak. He not only adamantly opposes abortion, which is his right, but he is a rabid creationist. He believes the world and everything in it was created 6,000 years ago and he admires the fanatic Opus Dei cult. Santorum has publicly fought for capping pain and suffering lawsuits at $250,000. But his wife sued her chiropractor in a pain and suffering case for $500,000 and won $350,000. Santorum has six children. He enrolled his school-age children in a school that was open only to Pennsylvania residents, even though the Santorums live in Virginia. He only removed the kids from the Pennsylvania school when a school board member raised a stink about the illegal arrangement. Last May 24th I said, “It is a total mystery to me exactly how major articles on Republican political candidates are placed in the MSM. But what is just as plain as white cotton panties is that Michael Sokolove's article on Rick Santorum in the Sunday (May 22) New York Times Magazine was planted by the GOP.” That article presented Rick Santorum as a religious, reasonable Mr. Nice Guy. Robin Toner has done the same thing. Her article is about the upcoming Pennsylvania Senate race that pits Democrat Bob Casey against Santorum. Toner presents Santorum as a sound and levelheaded alternative to Bob Casey. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Santorum is a far-right religious zealot. On April 7th, 2003, he said in an Associated Press interview, “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.” Later on in the interview, he went ballistic and ranted about “man on dog” sex. On May 18th, 2005 he expounded on the Senate filibuster fight and equated those who were against changing the way judges are confirmed with Hitler. He said, “It's the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942, 'I'm in Paris. How date you invade me. How dare you bomb my City? It's mine.'” Why does the New York Times insist on presenting Rick Santorum as a reasonable option in the Pennsylvania Senate race? The man is not reasonable. He’s a far-right fanatic and a bigot. He makes hateful intemperate remarks and only regrets them when he sees they have hurt his chances at the polls. Former Democratic senator Bob Kerrey once wondered whether Santorum is "Latin for asshole.” Santorum sees himself as President of the United States in 2008. If the election for Prez were between Rick Santorum and Richard Nixon, the reasonable, sane, law-abiding, truth-loving, congenial best man would be Nixon.

Ship of State Leaking Like a Sieve

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is being accused of leaking national defense info to pro-Israel lobbyist Steven Rosen. The lobbyist’s defense team is calling the leak by another name though. It’s a “backchannel exchange”, they say. On the day a CIA intelligence analyst got fired for having unauthorized contacts with the media and disclosing classified information to reporters, Condi Rice is accused of doing the same thing. But when Rice does it, it’s a backchannel exchange and it’s just part of political life in DC. At least that’s how the sleaze-meisters are defending it. WaPo reported the nut of the case this morning: “The indictment against (pro-Israel lobbyists) Rosen and Weissman alleges that three government officials leaked sensitive and sometimes classified national defense information to the two, who subsequently revealed what they learned to the press and to an Israeli government official.” A federal judge has granted a defense request to issue subpoenas for Rice and the other government officials who blabbed to Rosen and Weissman. Of course Rice and the White House consiglieries will fight the Rice subpoena. And U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said yesterday he’s thinking of dismissing the charges on the grounds that the law used to prosecute the lobbyists is vague. However, if it does come down to a fight, no doubt a key argument against Rice being deposed will be that it would jeopardize national security for her to give testimony about how she jeopardized national security.

Bolton May Can Harriet Miers…Who Cares?

The odd thing about the report of another ineffectual change by Bolton is that the New York Times is treating it as though it’s newsworthy. As a matter of fact, the New York Times is treating Bolton as though he’s newsworthy. Note this morning’s headline: “Bush Counsel May Be Next in White House Shake-Up”. Shake-up? What shake-up? Note the follow-up paragraph: “Moving Ms. Miers would be a strike at the heart of Mr. Bush's emotional bonds in the White House and would eliminate another Texan from the circle he has kept close to him in Washington. Republicans who talk regularly to senior West Wing advisers say the president has been unhappy and on edge about the staff changes that he nonetheless sees as necessary for revitalizing the West Wing.” What a load of crap! Harriet Miers is political poison. And President If-You-Can’t-Improve-My-Approval-Ratings-Fuck-You is only too happy to be rid of her. What staff changes have made the Prez unhappy and on edge? Scotty McClellan? Bush cannot wait to get Fox News Tony Snow on his staff to replace McClellan. Or failing that, Torie Clarke, another ass-kissing loyal female. If the Prez is unhappy and on edge it surely isn’t about staff changes--because Bolton has made no changes. Bolton is letting interchangeable people move into and out of interchangeable positions. And he’s letting people leave that cannot stand one more minute in the White House. It’s all window dressing to set the stage for the big event. And the MSM is providing a very useful service to the White House by treating Bolton as though he’s making important changes. It’s been decided that Donald Rumsfeld has to go and the staff change commotion has been leading up to that ONE, and only one, change. Is the Prez unhappy and on edge about getting rid of Rumsfeld? Of course not. He thinks it will improve his numbers. Now who do you think is behind getting rid of Andy Card to put a ringer like Bolton in place to set the stage for bogus staff changes which aren’t going to happen except for this single very important change? Could it be Karl Rove who has made it look like even his job is in peril? Could it be Karl Rove in cahoots with Dick Cheney? What an extravaganza! Seven generals say Rumsfeld has to go. Then the Military gets its knickers in a wad and says he has to stay. And the Prez says he has to stay, though he wants him to go, and Bolton starts acting like he’s making changes when he isn’t. And the whole thing has been in order to get rid of an old Pentagon hack who never should have been in charge of the war in Iraq in the first place. And why, you may ask, was Rumsfeld put in charge of George W. Bush’s unnecessary war in Iraq? Because GWB felt comfy with the old gang who had worked with his dad. And the GOP felt comfy because the old gang knew GWB was a silly twat. So…how have all these Machiavellian moves worked out? Rumsfeld is going to get the axe. Rove is under investigation. The Scooter is singing his lungs out. Cheney is sick as a dog. The GOP is in chaos. The war is in the toilet. Bush’s approval ratings are at 33 and he’s still a silly twat.

THE DECIDER

Oh yes I’m the great decider (ooh ooh) Deciding that I’m doing swell (ooh ooh) I know I’m a lush and I’m out of touch I decide fast but truly not well Oh yes I’m the great decider (ooh ooh) But I live in a world all alone I act the part but I know in my heart Karl decides what’s best on his own Too real is this feeling of fantasy Too real ‘cause I want to play God Can’t you see? Ooh Ooh yes I’m the great decider (ooh ooh) I decide jackshit as you know (ooh ooh) Karl decides what’s best (not me) And it breaks my heart into bits Knowing that he’s still around Yeah ooh hoo He’s the decider, I know in my heart Can’t you see? Ooh Ooh yes I’m the great decider (ooh ooh) I decide jackshit as you know (ooh ooh) Karl decides what’s best (not me) And it breaks my heart into bits Knowing that he’s still around

Beyond Brainless Flag-Waving

If you took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test in high school and signed a waiver that allowed the US Army to use the information, the results of your test were sent to local recruiters in the form of the ASVAB Recruiter Service Printout. The printout is a list of students who took the test, their scores, contact information (name, grade, sex, address, and phone number), and information about the students' plans after graduation. The ASVAB shows the areas a student has excelled in or has already received training in, not the areas the student would be good at if given training. The ASVAB is not an aptitude test. It does not plumb a student’s potential. It shows where the student has been, not where he could go. Therefore, women who don’t get good scores in math or mechanics will be unlikely to receive training in these areas in the military even if they have an innate ability in those areas. Similarly, if a student has never done mechanical work and doesn’t receive a good score in that area, he will be unlikely to receive training in the Army in jobs requiring mechanical ability, even if he has potential in that area. You don’t have to take the ASVAB test although many schools do not tell you that. If you take the test you can request that the scores not be sent to the military. Although, since the ASVAB is useless for gauging career potential, its only real purpose is as a military recruiting tool. Ergo, it’s silly to take the three-hour test for any reason other than having it used by the military. If acing the ASVAB is really important, countless Internet sites provide courses in how to pass the ASVAB with flying colors. There is a clause (SEC 9528) in the No Child Left Behind Act that states, “Each local educational agency receiving assistance under this Act shall provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students." This means that the military is given all personal information on all students in schools that receive No Child Left Behind funds. However, you can fill out an opt-out form and the information will be withheld from the military. And let’s take a look at some facts about Selective Service. People are scared to death the draft will be reinstated--and with good reason. The Department of Defense and the US military has so bungled the war in Iraq that our volunteer army has been depleted and ill-used. These are the facts about the Selective Service: The Selective Service System is an independent federal agency operating with permanent authorization under the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 451 et seq.). It is not part of the Department of Defense. But its reason for being is to provide emergency manpower for the Military by drafting untrained men and personnel with professional health care skills when so directed by Congress and the President in a national crisis. It also has a mission to be ready to provide an alternative service program, in place of military service for those who are classified as conscientious objectors. The Selective Service System calls itself “America's proven and time-tested hedge against underestimating the number of active duty and Reserve Component military personnel needed in a future conflict.” During peacetime, the Selective Service depends on “part-time personnel and volunteers throughout the United States to keep viable the Nation's ability to conduct a draft that would be timely, fair, and equitable in a crisis.” But, the Selective Service info says, “As a part of that readiness, virtually all men in the U.S. are required to register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Men must be registered to be in compliance with federal law and stay eligible for student loans and grants, government jobs, job training, all security background clearances, and U.S. citizenship for immigrants. “Today, the Selective Service System continues to satisfy its statutory obligations while providing the only time-tested mechanism to backup the all-volunteer military when needed.” With the Bush administration in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threatening to nuke Iran, it is not unreasonable to assume that the draft will be reinstituted. The SS says it’s a hedge against “underestimating” the number of personnel needed “in a future conflict”. Our government has done nothing but underestimate everything about the war in Iraq. And certainly the number of personnel needed is the most egregious underestimation of all. Every seventeen-year-old needs to inform himself about every aspect of the US military: From shady recruitment practices, to being a conscientious objector. And since failure to register with the Selective Service will prevent a person from receiving federal financial aid, federal job training, up to $250,000 in fines and five years in jail, it probably behooves a man to register. The draft is not only a possibility, but if John McCain becomes president, you can count on the draft being reinstituted. Oh…and about that sex change. If you were born a female and had a sex change you don’t have to register. But all persons born male, whether they still have their equipment or not, have to register with Selective Service. Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t peek, don’t freak!

Josh Bolton’s Plan To Refresh & Energize

Here it is folks: The new Chief of Staff’s astounding strategy for change in the Bush administration. Are you ready? Ta-da! Oh wait! He’s going to do what? Let people quit? As it turns out, Bolton’s actual plan seems to be on the girlie-side of passive-aggressive office management. He makes an announcement that heads will roll, tells people to quit while they have the chance, and then what? He’ll no doubt fire someone right away who is already out the door (Treasury’s John Snow is the designated hittee in that arena), he’ll announce the appointment of his replacement, fill the posts of people who’ve been put in jail. And maybe fire some of the White House secretarial pool. That’s it. That’s the plan. John Bolton is not your straight-ahead brass-balls kind of guy. But the style of the Bush White House has always been underhanded and sneaky, which is characteristic of the weak. The Bush administration plots and schemes and tells lies, starts rumors and ruins reputations. It gives itself to thugs and prates about morals. It sells itself for money and calls it patriotism. The Bush administration is a cathouse operating out of a ladies sewing circle. And unless Josh Bolton fires the entire Bush cabinet including Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, nothing is going to change. Press Secretary Scott McClellan said, "The president has given him (Bolton) the full authority to do what he needs to do, and what he believes is in the best interest of this White House and this president." That says it all. Those are Rove/Cheney words, not the Prez's, because Bush can't put together a simple declarative sentence. And Rove/Cheney believe it’s in the best interest of the Bush administration to let the disloyal quit and to keep everything else in place. And that is exactly what Chief of Staff Bolton is going to do--nothing more.

Those Army Recruiting Ads on TV

It’s hard to imagine how the US Army could have come up with more obnoxious ads. First, of course, the idea that they exist at all is loathsome. The US Army should be apologizing to the world for the mess in Iraq not trying to gull stupid youngsters into enlisting so they can die for the glory of Donald Rumsfeld. Second, it’s galling that the US Army is promoting the fiction that a disadvantaged kid can join up and not find himself in Iraq immediately and for the foreseeable future. But the tenor of the ads is the most maddening thing about them: There’s the mother who seems to preface life with a sigh and an expectation that once again she’s going to be disappointed. (Which, dejected and depressed as she is, she probably will be.) Then there’s the kid who apparently believes the army training will equip him for something other than staying in the army and he parrots that boloney to his dumber-than-grass father. But the winner of the Most Crass Army Ad Award is this one, which I quote: Father to young man who is probably his son: You’re a changed man. Shook my hand then looked me square in the eye. Where’d that come from? Implication 1: The son was a snot-nosed brat the father couldn’t control. Implication 2: The father had done such a piss-poor job of raising the kid that the kid ran off to the Army. Implication 3: The numnut father hadn’t even taught his kid to shake hands properly and to look people in the eye when doing so. Implication 4: The father couldn’t understand how his kid had learned to do anything right, since it sure as hell hadn’t come from him. Implication 5: Send your uneducated, badly raised, untrained children to the US Army and it will shape them up before getting them killed. The CCCO (Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors) says: Most students don't know that: * Two-thirds of recruits don't get any college money. * To qualify for college money recruits have to pay $100 per month for a year. * Most people in the military do not have time to attend college while in the service. * The unemployment rate for veterans is three times higher than the national average. * People who sign up with the Delayed Entry Program are told they can't change their minds, but getting out is as simple as writing a letter. * The enlistment contract is for eight years. * There are other ways to finance college, like federal financial aid, private scholarships, going to community college or joining AmeriCorps. But finally, the question must be asked: Why would the Army want a recruit who is so stupid that he falls for these TV recruitment ads unless the Army’s only use for such a recruit is to send him to Iraq to get killed?

I Repeat…

The following was originally posted on Ratbang on October 1, 2005. It deserves to be said again. HERE'S THE THING Let's say, for argument's sake, that the New Testament stories of the Last Supper are fairly accurate. Let's say that, in spite of all the magical nonsense, political propaganda and editing and rewriting, the basic story of that last Seder is true. Let's say that back in that day, a man named Jesus wanted to reform some of the practices of Judaism, and the theocracy in power was dead-set against him. Let's say that Jesus knew a ratfink mole from the tradition-bound theocracy had wormed his way into Jesus' band of friends. Let's say Jesus knew he would not be alive to honor another Shabbat after Passover. Let's say Jesus called his friends together so they could have their Seder together, knowing that Judas had sold him out. Let's say Jesus took a loaf of bread, said a prayer of thanks and passed it around, then took a chalice of wine, said a prayer of thanks and passed it around and then said, “Look, I know one of you has given me up to them, I even know who it is, but remember what we stood for, guys. Every time you eat and drink, think of me and then just keep on keepin' on.” Let's say Jesus said something like, “When you do this, remember me”. Here's the thing: There is not one single account that reports that Jesus said, “It's not kosher for you to eat bread and drink wine and remember me unless a guy in a dress gives you permission, says some mumbo-jumbo and decides whether you are worthy to think of me while having a teaspoon of wine and eating something called a wafer that doesn't even resemble stale matzo brei.” See…the thing is, Jesus never said that. All he said was, “When you do this, remember me.” So you know what? Why not just cut out the middleman? Whoever you are, if it feels right to remember a man who had integrity, wanted to fight injustice and wasn't afraid to die for his beliefs, then go ahead, have some supper, drink a glass of wine, and remember that man because all the stories say he was good, kind, just and honorable. And that is more than can be said for the pompous assholes in the Vatican who are more diabolical, self-serving and greedy than the worst fanatics who wanted Jesus dead.

Rumsfeld’s Iced Underwear

Cannonfire’s Joe Cannon has a link today to a post by Martin Random that ran on the Awful Forums blog. Claiming to have insider White House info, Random says the Prez and his anti-depressant addiction have rendered him impotent and that Rumsfeld has to wear iced underwear to alleviate his uncontrollable long-term erections. So you read it and chuckle. And you think about all the shenanigans and preposterous stuff the White House has pulled since 2000, and the allegations don’t seem that fanciful. I mean, Cheney probably does fart all the time and have horrific bad breath. And the dick probably was dead drunk when he shot Harry Whittington. And maybe there was a half-ton block of cheese sealed in a room in the White House for 30 years. Even the Tom Ridge stuff is possible. Maybe right-side-out socks do frighten him. Maybe he is paranoid about being poisoned. Maybe he is terrified of animals with hair longer than one-inch. It could happen. Because how crazy is it that doctors would put ice in Rumsfeld’s knickers when Sy Hersh tells us that the Bush administration has plans to nuke Iran? What’s more unbelievable? That the White House has decided the way for the US to control all the oil in the Middle East is to drop nuclear bombs on the countries that protest? Or that the man who claims nuclear warfare is safe wears icewater panties? There is a point where Martin Random does go too far though. That’s when he says Condi Rice is completely balanced and normal. Come on, Mr. White House Insider, we weren’t born yesterday.

What Were They Thinking?

Back in 1998 when the GOP mavens decided Texas Governor George W. Bush should be the 43rd President of the United States, what prompted the Republicans in power to make the worst decision ever made in American politics? The GOP had already decided in 1998 to initiate its plan of so-called pre-emptive strikes on oil-rich and vulnerable countries in the Middle East. Why didn’t they choose a strong and intelligent man to run for president? Why pick an under-achieving addiction-prone learning-disabled ne’er-do-well? George W. Bush was made to order for the job. George W. Bush was and is easily manipulated, vain, absolutely without ethics and totally corrupt. He is profoundly ignorant. He questions nothing and investigates nothing. However George W. Bush is personable. And his main attribute in the eyes of his handlers is that he believes God wants him to rule the world. He is a perfect dupe. The men who run the GOP are arrogant and have a 1950’s mindset. They are unable to understand that cover-ups will come to light and that lies will be found out. When given the chance, they always got away with their plots and schemes before. They are 20th century warhorses incapable of changing their modus operandi. And they too are without ethics and totally corrupt. When a fraud had to be perpetrated for GWB to win the 2000 election, the GOP may have realized it had made a terrible mistake, but evenso, the GOP has never deviated for one second from its avowed purpose. It would be interesting to know exactly when George W. Bush unalterably became damaged goods. By all accounts, he actually carried on a cogent debate with Ann Richards in 1994. Those who have watched the debate tape have said GWB acquitted himself well. Atlantic Monthly writer James Fallows said in the July-August 2004 issue that George W. Bush was articulate and forceful and that he spoke well. Sometime between the age of 48 and 58 George W. Bush suffered a serious breakdown of some sort. I favor the idea that he started using cocaine again to ramp up his macho-mojo and had a stroke…but who knows? The first time the GOP elevated a personable flawed dork to President of the United States, that bigoted know-nothing developed Alzheimer’s and faked it as president for the next seven years. Because of the limits of technology of the time, most people didn’t know the difference. The passage of twenty years has repaired that information gap. The fact that the United States has a mentally impaired idiot for president who has a messiah complex is impossible to conceal. But the original plan of those who pushed George W. Bush into the presidency has not changed since 1998. That plan has always been to control the entire Middle East and its oil by military means. Even though the Commander-in-Chief is a madman and a nuclear war in the Middle East would destroy us all, the White House and Pentagon neocons are undeterred. Republican apologists are still flogging the old complaint that at least the Bush administration has a plan for its war in Iraq and the Democrats have no plan. Wrong. The Democrats do have a plan. The plan of the Democratic Party is to keep informing the public about where the White House has been leading us, and to effect a regime change in the United States starting with the elections this year. But exposing the truth about John McCain as a warloving global aggression conservative is the most important job the Dems have. John McCain is Dick Cheney with wit and a smile. You can’t get more dangerous than that.

Garry Wills Tells Us What Jesus Meant

It’s not that Garry Wills doesn’t have the gravitas, requisite alphabet behind his name or the scholarship to opine about Jesus. He is adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University. He got a Ph.D. in classics from Yale. He writes about God, the Pope, Roman Catholicism, being a Catholic, St. Augustine, not to mention Abraham Lincoln, and John Wayne. And he has just authored a book titled “What Jesus Meant”. But the Op/Ed piece in the New York Times this morning by Garry Wills, “Christ Among the Partisans”, is irritating. Garry Wills purports to explain Jesus by doing exactly what the men who wrote the New Testament did. Garry Wills has an agenda and uses the stories that have come down to us about Jesus Christ as though they are facts that support his agenda. The Gospels of the New Testament are opinion pieces written at the earliest, 50 years and more after the death of Jesus. And although Wills’ main thesis is that Jesus had no political agenda, the men who wrote the gospels about Jesus certainly did have a political agenda. One of the most oft-repeated quotes attributed to Jesus is “Let Caesar have what belongs to him, and God have what belongs to him" (Matthew 22:21). This quote is used to show that Jesus believed in the separation of religion and state. That may be so. And yet, in the part of the world where Jesus lived and died, religion made the rules. Religion and state were one and the same entity and everything written was written from the perspective that religion called the shots. Garry Wills maintains that Jesus was apolitical because no one knew what he was going to do next. He bases the fact that no one knew what he would do next on the many conflicting and varied stories about Jesus that have come down to us in the Bible. And yet, the stories are conflicting because different men wrote from different perspectives about a man they had never met. And all of these writers had a political agenda. There are a few phrases and parables attributed to Jesus that appear in all four New Testament Gospels. Jesus probably did say something like these few quotes. But most of the quotes Wills uses are in dispute among historians as to whether Jesus said what is claimed he said. In many cases, a man living at the time Jesus lived would not have used the words and locutions it is claimed Jesus used. In other cases, it’s doubted Jesus would have been so arrogant as to say what is claimed he said. What Garry Wills can safely profess is that he absolutely believes in a mythic figure presented in the New Testament as Jesus Christ. Fine. That’s his prerogative. But he cannot claim that the words passed down to us in the Bible were the actual words and beliefs of a man called Jesus Christ who existed in history. Did Jesus say this: “My reign is not of this present order. If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here" (John 18:36)”? I don’t know and neither does Garry Wills. Wills has a hope. He has a belief. He has a religion. But he does not and cannot know if Christ said it or if the writers of the New Testament just made it up out of whole cloth to advance a religious bias of the time. I am in total agreement with Wills on one thing however: No one knows what Jesus Christ would do in any given circumstance at any given time.

Big News: Prez Leaked, But Not That Leak

The LA Times reports this morning that White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said. "Because of the public debate that was going on and some of the wild accusations that were flying around … we felt it was very much in the public interest that what information could be declassified, be declassified. And that's exactly what we did." So the info that President Bush authorized Libby to leak was a summary of the National Intelligence Estimate and it was supposed to refute the claims of pesky White House critic Joe Wilson. Okay. And Libby testified that he leaked this classified info to New York Times reporter Judith Miller after Bush gave Cheney his personal authorization for the leak. Okay. And McClellan further said, "Declassifying information and providing it to the public, when it is in the public interest, is one thing. But leaking classified information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious." Okay. McClellan meant that when the Prez leaks classified info it’s good, but leaks about the President’s illegal wiretaps are very bad. But why did the President leak the National Intelligence Estimate info when ten days later he released the info publicly? The Prez authorized the leak to NYT reporter Judith Miller on July 8, 2003 because at that time he did not know whether its public release would violate national security. He was hedging his bets. And lest we didn’t catch the nuance of the Libby rat-out: Libby did not say that the Prez authorized the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s undercover CIA status. Which, of course you and I know he did. But nevermind. Okay…okay…okay. We get the message. The stance of the Bush administration is that the President can do whatever he likes, whenever he likes and it will never constitute anything but a good and necessary action in the public interest and for national security. Which we all know is boloney and we know the White House knows it’s boloney. Here’s the thing: If it’s on Page One, it is NOT the Big Story. Trust Sy Hersh. The New Yorker’s Sy Hersh knows where the Big Story is. And when Sy Hersh says in the April 17th issue of the New Yorker that the White House is planning to use nukes on Iran, believe it. Nukes and what the US plans to do with them worldwide is what we should be concerned about. The White House Monkey on a Chain can’t even pronounce the word nuclear, you don’t think he's told anything about anything, do you?

So What Exactly Did Libby Say?

I. Lewis Libby Jr. said in grand jury testimony that was disclosed Wednesday that in July 2003 he was authorized by President Bush through Vice President Cheney to disclose parts of a classified pre-war intelligence estimate regarding Iraq. However, Libby did not say that the Prez or the Dick had authorized him to divulge the name of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson. The leak to reporters occurred after Joe Wilson’s article had appeared in the New York Times which reported that it was "highly doubtful" that Iraq had tried to get nuclear fuel in Africa. Meaning that the Bush administration had lied about the case against Saddam Hussein. Cheney was incensed anyone would doubt his word or the President’s word. The leak was supposed to prove that according to the best info the White House had at the time, the Bush administration believed Iraq had tried to buy nuclear fuel in Africa. Libby said that since the president can declassify any material he sees fit, Bush declassified the up-to-then classified National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) re Iraq in order to squelch the firestorm Wilson’s article had started. The Prez through Cheney gave Libby the okay to talk to reporters about the NIE information. As the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee Jane Harman (D-CA) said, "If the disclosure is true, it's breathtaking. The president is revealed as the leaker in chief." In September, 2003 Bush said, “I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action." In October, 2003 Bush said, “I don't know if we're going to find out the senior administration official. Now, this is a large administration, and there's a lot of senior officials. I don't have any idea. I'd like to. I want to know the truth. That's why I've instructed this staff of mine to cooperate fully with the investigators -- full disclosure, everything we know the investigators will find out. I have no idea whether we'll find out who the leaker is.” In June 2004, Bush replied "yes" when asked if he would fire anyone who leaked the agent's name. We know everyone in the Bush administration lies every time they open their mouths. This latest example of mendacity is not much of a surprise. But what is astonishing is that Bush and Cheney have had total faith that either through loyalty or through fear no one in the White House would rat them out when the going got tough. Now that Rat One has fingered George W. Bush as Leaker A, the GOP pushing and shoving to get publishing house book deals, legal representation and information on witness protection is going to look like B-movie crowd-scene cattle calls.

Oh How Funny! Bush Thinks He’s President

Deluded and grandiose as he is, George Bush seems to believe he actually is President of the United States. Yesterday he said, “I told Josh (Bolton, Andy Card’s replacement) that he is — will organize the White House in such a way that he is comfortable with and that meets my needs. And my needs are to have good, crisp information so I can make decisions on behalf of the American people." Back in October 2005, by the way, this acting president said, "I just can't tell you how important it is for us to guard executive privilege in order for there to be crisp decision-making in the White House.” Bush gets wedded to words. Like other mentally challenged adults trying to fake it in a complex world, George W. Bush believes that if he uses a word, he owns the attribute. In any case, it will be a relief when the Bush minders start making crisp decisions. We’ve been waiting for six years and haven’t seen any yet. One of the mysteries surrounding the Bush cabinet is why Treasury Secretary John Snow hasn’t resigned. He isn’t happy. He’s made it clear he isn’t happy. And yet there he is, apparently waiting to be kicked out. Last month, the names on every short list re Treasury Secretary were Henry M. Paulson Jr., chief executive of Goldman Sachs; John J. Mack, chief executive of Morgan Stanley; and Richard D. Parsons, chairman of Time Warner. Apparently, Mack and Parsons quickly said No thank you, because only Paulson’s name is still being bandied about. Stanley O’Neal, chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch is now being touted as a possible Snow replacement. O’Neal has the added appeal of being black, having come up the son of a cotton picker and having been a factory foreman at General Motors. However, I feel sure the reason Snow is still Secretary of the Treasury is that no one wants the job no way no how. You have to realize that Merrill Lynch boosted O’Neal’s salary to $37 mil in 2005. That would be hard to give up. I still can’t get over Bush saying he needs to have crisp information to make decisions for the American people. He had some pretty crisp information the day the planes slammed into the World Trade Center. He did absolutely nothing for five minutes. He got some very crisp info that more troops were needed in Iraq. He decided more troops were not needed in Iraq. His crisp info said to fire Rumsfeld. He did nothing. He had really crisp information the day Katrina hit. He did nothing. Apparently he can’t handle crisp information. Oh okay. I got it. He’s dyslexic. He saw a memo that said Here’s the prick’s information. Now that makes sense.

The DeLay Legacy

Richard Cullen, Tom DeLay's criminal defense lawyer, said last night that his client had been pondering a withdrawal from the race for some time and that "it had nothing to do with any criminal investigation." "The decision had absolutely nothing to do with the investigation," Mr. Cullen said. "It was a very personal decision and a political one." Uh huh. Just wanted to spend more time with his family. Before he goes to jail. Tom Delay is generally considered to be the most corrupt politician in Washington, DC today. When his former deputy chief of staff, Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to corruption charges, DeLay realized his particular jig was up. However, he just can’t keep from running the long con. It’s a compulsion. "I can continue to be a leader of the conservative cause. I can do more to grow the Republican majority, rather than spend the next eight months locked down in running a campaign," he said. But the big story isn’t about Tom DeLay. Tom DeLay is yesterday’s Texas cowpie. The big story is that John Boehner, DeLay’s majority leader replacement, plans to pick up where Tom DeLay left off. Boehner said Delay was “one of the most effective and gifted leaders the Republican Party has ever known." Boehner said of his predecessor, "He was a tireless advocate for his constituents, the state of Texas, and all Americans who shared a commitment to the principles of smaller government, more freedom, and family values.” There you go. Family values Texas style: Lie, cheat, coerce, defraud, bribe, swindle and conspire. DeLay just passed the baton to John Boehner.

Dear New York Times:

I love your lead paragraph in this morning’s “Endgame in Iraq” editorial. Let me quote it. “Iraq is becoming a country that America should be ashamed to support, let alone occupy. The nation as a whole is sliding closer to open civil war. In its capital, thugs kidnap and torture innocent civilians with impunity, then murder them for their religious beliefs. The rights of women are evaporating. The head of the government is the ally of a radical anti-American cleric who leads a powerful private militia that is behind much of the sectarian terror.” Can it be you are unaware as to why Iraq is “sliding closer to open civil war”? Can it be that you are ignorant about why “thugs kidnap and torture innocent civilians with impunity”? But no, later, you say, “Unfortunately, after three years of policy blunders in Iraq, Washington may no longer have the political or military capital to prevail.” And further on, you say, “That may be hard for Americans to understand, since it was the United States invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and helped the Shiite majority to power. Some 140,000 American troops remain in Iraq, more than 2,000 American servicemen and servicewomen have died there so far and hundreds of billions of American dollars have been spent.” Now it’s clear: You are not unaware and ignorant, you simply have your collective head up your mainstream media ass. The point you make that the US invaded Iraq, helped the Shiites come to power, and have killed 2,330 American soldiers is exactly what Americans find easy to understand. You say “The stories about innocent homeowners and storekeepers who are dragged from their screaming families and killed by those same militias are heartbreaking, as is the thought that the United States, in its hubris, helped bring all this to pass.” HELPED bring it to pass? HELPED? What Americans find easy to understand is that the Bush administration, in its hubris, single-handedly BROUGHT ALL THIS TO PASS. And it was not to aid the Iraqis in throwing off the shackles of a despotic, corrupt and sadistic ruler, nor was it to bring democracy to an oppressed people. We have proof via a memo written by PM Tony Blair’s chief foreign policy advisor David Manning in 2003 that President Bush was determined to find an excuse to attack Iraq despite the fact that his plans were illegal, unethical, and lacked sound judgment. And the reason the White House was willing to tell lies, to attack without a second UN resolution, to attack without getting Congress to declare war even now is murky. It may have been because Iraq was an easy first step in a US global aggression scheme, or it may have been to solidify American power in the Middle East, or perhaps safeguarding American oil interests in Iraq was, after all, what the war was about. But the Bush administration made a decision to own Iraq by military means. And now the Bush administration owns Iraq. It owns all the strife, all the killing, and the civil war. Most of all, New York Times, I love your editorial’s send-off: “It is conceivable that the situation can still be turned around,” you say. Following it with, “Mr. Khalilzad should not back off. The kind of broadly inclusive government he is trying to bring about offers the only hope that Iraq can make a successful transition from the terrible mess it is in now to the democracy that we all hoped would emerge after Saddam Hussein's downfall. It is also the only way to redeem the blood that has been shed by Americans and Iraqis alike.” Who the hell is that “we all” who hoped democracy would emerge in Iraq? Let me go on record, you gnat-brained editorial morons, it was never a remote dream or hope of mine that democracy would emerge from the mess we caused in Iraq. I never thought it would be possible. I never believed the Bush lies. I never thought the Iraq people could embrace democracy overnight after centuries of dictatorships. And I never thought it was a good idea to push the concept of democracy onto the Iraqis. I am not alone. There are millions of people who sat in dismay and felt hopeless for Iraq and its people when the Bush administration, in its incredible hubris, decided to attack and then force fed democracy and Christian precepts down the throats of a Muslim nation that for centuries only knew and understood autocracy. There is absolutely no way to “redeem the blood that has been shed by Americans and Iraqis alike.” And certainly, calling our vicious and illegal attack of Iraq an act of kindness, does not effect redemption. This morning’s inane editorial sounds like the propaganda dished out by the White House disinformation department. They think that calling something by another name changes the nature of the thing in question. It doesn’t. They think that couching bad policy in new rhetoric changes bad policy to good policy. It doesn’t. This morning, the New York Times said we all hoped democracy would emerge after Saddam was ousted from power. No we didn’t. This morning, the New York Times said the situation in Iraq could be turned around. No it can’t. This morning, the New York Times said that bringing democracy to Iraq would redeem the blood the Bush administration has shed in Iraq. No it won’t. Wishing does not and never will make it so.

Oh Please, LA Times, Knock It Off!

“It's been a while since a major American news organization treated an important national issue as irresponsibly as CNN now does immigration,” an editorial in the LA Times claimed this morning. Well, it hasn’t exactly been that long a while, even the Times had to admit, when it likened Lou Dobbs and Company to Fox News. “’Fair and balanced’ is already taken, so one supposes that Dobbs' slogan will have to be ‘bully and bluster’.” The Times’ long suit is not wit. As an example of Dobb’s irresponsibility, the Times cited the following: “One of the things that frustrates many of us who care about our country and the truth," Dobbs wrote on CNN's website Friday, "is the rampant barrage of misinformation, disseminated by such vociferous special interests, whether they are ethnocentric social activists, labor unions, the Catholic Church or Corporate America. The truth is, advocates of amnesty, guest-worker programs and open borders are unconcerned about the 280 million American citizens, the men and women of this country who work for a living and their families." First, it’s the irresponsibility of the US government that has landed us in the pickle we are in with between 11 million and 20 million illegal immigrants in the US today. Cheap labor and pandering to the Latino vote has lead to little or no security at our borders. And now illegal immigrants who do not pay into Social Security, who do not pay taxes, but avail themselves of all of our social services and are causing problems in our public schools, overloading our health care services, and welfare departments and costing the government mega-bucks are making demands. ILLEGAL is a definable word. An illegal immigrant is someone who broke the laws of our land to get here and continues to break the laws of our land to live here. If we were only talking about Emma Lazarus’s sentimental concept--"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”—it would be one thing. But we are talking about what happens when the federal government in order to pander to corporate greed—that is, cheap labor—and in order to get votes condones breaking the law. No matter what the LA Times, the Bush administration and the Roman Catholic Church may argue, illegal immigrants got here illegally and are staying here illegally. That’s what our laws say. What must be addressed and seriously is this: What can we do NOW that the US government has dropped the ball for the last 20 years? When President Ronald Reagan and his administration granted amnesty to illegal immigrants in 1986, they did so with no concern for the dire lasting effects. We are now seeing those lasting effects. Repeating the same mistakes that caused the problem will not solve the problem. Because amnesty did not work in the past, because illegals were not sent back in the past, because cheap labor and the Latino vote was more important to legislators than enforcement of our laws, almost any action taken now is unworkable. Lou Dobbs and his complaints are not wrong. Our government is wrong. Our government has been wrong about illegal immigrants for 20 years.